Off to RAGRAI 2019

Once again I’m off to RAGBRAI. This will be my fourth trip across Iowa in the summer heat. That is now, by any means, a record. I’m sure somewhere there’s a woman or man who’s ridden all forty-seven previous editions. That being said, I think four is pretty good considering the distance from Honolulu to Council Bluffs.
It’s a lovely afternoon in Honolulu and I’m flying off. Go figure. Here’s a shot of the garden area at Honolulu International.

It’s really quite lovely and I plan on a few minutes of meditation before I have to board. There’s no hurry though, I’m here hours ahead of my flight. That’s my usual practice, I’m down with people watching and airports are pretty good places for that.
RAGBRAI is the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. You can read about it on their website. Given that it started as a Des Moines Register newspaper story you bet they’ll do a much better job writing about than I could, so I’ll just mention a few bits and pieces. Indeed, RAGBRAI is only one part of this trip, admittedly the biggest part, but there’s more.
First I’m off to Denver, arriving late tomorrow morning. I’ll be staying at The Crawford for an evening, a bit of a treat. It’s rated a five star hotel and would usually be out of my price range. But it’s for one night, so why not.
Downtown Denver is lovely and has a ton of things to do. I once found mannequin parts stuffed into a park garbage can. Never a dull moment. The Crawford is in the old Union Station and is quite an historic location I’m told. Tomorrow evening I even have a docent tour of the place scheduled. Might as well play tourist.
If there’s time, I’ll probably ride the bike share system across the river and hit up REI for a few last minute goodies for the ride. But I may just do nothing much as well.
Sunday should be a blast. I’m having brunch with two old friends from my Milwaukee days. They both ended up in Denver and it’s been a long time since I’ve seen either, though we’ve kept in touch infrequently over the years.
After that, I’ll be off to Erich’s place in Evergreen up in the mountains outside of Denver. He and I met on RAGBRAI back in 2011 and have been tight friends ever since. He’s building my a bike for this trip, so my trusty Bike Friday isn’t along for this one. She’s done three already and while I’ve no doubt she’d be fine, I’m riding an “Erich Special.” It’s a bike from cast off parts, as well as a few new bits and pieces; new tires come to mind. This one is build from an old Bianchi touring frame and I can’t wait to give her a spin.

She’s set up for hills with a wide 1×10 gearing system. We’ll see how well she does in Iowa as her work isn’t done when that’s finished. I’ll also be riding her from Brookings, Oregon to San Francisco a bit later this year.
Monday will be a full day with some riding around Denver to make sure the bike is riding smoothly and topped by a Rockies game.
Then the journey really begins. On Tuesday Erich and I will be driving to Hill City, South Dakato in the Black Hills near Mt. Rushmore. On Wednesday we have plans to spend the day riding parts of the Mickelson Trail. I don’t know much. about it, but it looks lovely as this shot from the SD Tourist Bureau attests.

Then on Thursday we’re off to Council Bluffs, Iowa, the start town for the 48th RAGBRAI. Erich and I have been here before several times over the years, though mostly we hang on the other side of the river in Omaha.
Our itinerary there includes a stop at some bicycle shops, breakfast, dinner at a fun steak house out of 1960’s mob movie, and more baseball. Having seen Major League Baseball in Denver, we’ll be seeing the Triple A Omaha Stormchasers. I’ve seen ’em before and they have great ballpark.
Saturday is the orientation day for RAGBRAI and includes a big bike expo where we can spend money on things we’ll later realize we don’t want to carry across Iowa.
And then, on Sunday, RAGBRAI begins. I’ll be blogging my journey as time and energy allows. I probably won’t have as many images as in past rides, I’m using film this year. I’ll take a few with my phone, but the bulk of the imagery will have to wait till I get back! Hopefully, my words will convey my experience and you can ride along with me as the miles of Southern Iowa roll by.